Living in the UK

Living in the UK

Studying abroad is an exciting experience, but living in a different country may be challenging for some students.

We hope that you will find the information on this page useful and reassuring.

Two weeks before you leave your country to begin your course at CELT, we will send you a welcome email. You can read the information we send in the email by looking at this example.

On your first day at CELT, you will have an induction meeting which will give you lots of information to help you to feel comfortable about your stay with us. In that meeting we will give you a copy of our guidelines booklet and explain the information it contains. You can also download the guidelines from this page: we have adult guidelines for all students studying on adult courses (including 17 year-old students studying in the adult centre) and guidelines for under 18 students on our HLC and group courses.

Seeing a Doctor or a Dentist

To see a doctor in Cardiff you must register when you first arrive in the city. Some students can see a doctor for free; others will need to pay.

Seeing a doctor is free for:

• Students from the EEA (European Economic Area) with an EHIC (European Health Insurance Card). You can find out more from this leaflet. Please contact us directly for the latest information concerning travel insurance.
• Students with leave to remain in the UK (a valid visa) for more than 6 months who have paid the immigration health surcharge. This will give you access to NHS care in the UK at no additional cost in the same way as a permanent UK resident. This includes attending an appointment at a doctor’s surgery (known as General Practitioner/GP), a healthcare centre or a hospital. You may need to pay for dental and optical treatment as well as medicine prescribed by the doctor and collected from a pharmacy/chemist (for example, ‘Boots’). There may also be exceptions for particularly expensive treatments.

Find out more about medical care for international students in Wales from the UKCISA website

If you are not in any of these groups, you may have to pay for most hospital treatments, as well as paying full price for any medicines the doctor prescribes. Please ask Reception if you would like more information.

Registering with a Doctor

In the UK, family doctors are called GPs (General Practitioners) and they work in small groups in a place called a surgery or medical centre. You should register at one near your accommodation, as soon as you arrive in Cardiff.

If you have arranged homestay accommodation through CELT, we recommend that you register with your homestay provider’s GP.

If you are staying in independent accommodation, we recommend that you find a GP via www.wales.nhs.uk: help with this is available from Reception.

If you are staying in our CELT residences you can register at Park Place Surgery, a five-minute walk from the adult centre.

If you need non-emergency medical help outside office hours, you should call 0845 4647 for 24 hour medical support,

If you need emergency treatment, but the problem is not life threatening, go to the Emergency Unit (24/7) at the University Hospital of Wales, The Gateway, Cardiff CF14 4XW

If you have an immediate emergency call 999 and ask for an ambulance.

Dental Care (Teeth)

Dental appointments can be made with local dentists and emergency treatment is available by contacting the Emergency Dental Helpline on +44 29 2044 4500 (out of hours service and for those not registered with a dental surgery).

You must pay for all emergency dental care. It will cost about £20.00 to see a dentist and any treatment will cost more. Dental care in the UK can be very expensive: we strongly recommend that you have suitable insurance that will cover the cost of medical and dental treatment in case you need it.

Useful Websites

Please see below for some useful links to various websites about life in Cardiff and the UK in general, or contact us directly via the link below: